Tag: Maiquel Falcao

Bellator kicked off its fourth 185-lb tournament last night and it was a pretty good night of scraps for those in the bludgeoning business. Despite a last minute cancellation of the scheduled Prindle-Santos rematch, the card marched bravely on. Eight middleweights squared off for a chance to advance to the semis and ultimately to challenge reigning champ Hector Lombard. It may not be the most popular tournament at the moment, but it’s ours, dammit, and here’s how it played out.

The opening bout in the eight-man scrum pitted Season 5 runner-up Vitor Vianna against Brian Rogers. Rogers came out as the early aggressor, firing off hard shots at a passive Vianna. Eager to get the fight to the ground, Vianna worked for the takedown, but his back only graced the canvas once for a few seconds following a hip-toss by Rogers. Back on the feet, “The Predator” stunned Vianna with a right hand that wobbled him back on his heels. Smelling blood, Rogers leapt in with flying knee for a textbook falling tree KO. “”That was my third flying knee knockout. Google it,” said Rogers in his post-fight interview. I would, boss, but I’m terrified of the internet. All nine of Rogers’ victories have come by first round stoppage. Not too shabby.

We’re in the midst of the longest MMA drought of the year, Potato Nation. With only one UFC and one Strikeforce event scheduled in the next month, the gambling addicts within the CP staff are damn near starving to death. Seriously, we’ve been forced to start taking bets on things like: how long Karma can grow his fingernails before he scratches someone’s eyes out, the IQ of BG’s child (currently), and which cockroach in Danga’s apartment will finally die of lead poisoning.

Perhaps it’s a sign of how far the sport has come in the past few years that we expect a card every couple weeks; pehaps it is just a sign of our greed. In either case, Bellator has stepped up to fill the void left behind by all the major organizations, and thankfully so. With three events planned in the next two weeks, it presents a perfect opportunity to get some bad picks and ridiculous parlays out of your system before it really costs you.

Despite the main event being cancelled at the last second, tonight’s Bellator 61 card still presents some intriguing match-ups and more than a couple ways to come out with a more padded wallet to spend on tomorrows festivities, ie. green colored beer and an end of the night stomach pumping. But let’s get one thing straight, this is not your mamma’s Gambling Addiction Enabler, this is a sort of similar yet entirely different monster. CagePotato can not be held accountable for the following betting advice, so read at your own risk.

(And YOU get an unnecessarily long beatdown, and YOU get an unnecessarily long beatdown!)

Bellator recently announced the lineup and first round match-ups for its 6th season middleweight tournament, and it features more than its fair share of familiar faces. First off, after reportedly suffering a heart attack during training back in November, former UFC middleweight Maiquel Falcao will be returning to action against 10-1-1 Norman Paraisy. Paraisy, a Paris, France native, previously fell to a first round rear-naked choke at the hands of inaugural UFC middleweight champion Dave Menne in his last Bellator appearance, which took place back in April of 2009. Paraisy has gone 5-0-1 since the loss, picking up wins over Paulo Filho and Jack Mason among others. True to his fighting style, Falcao last picked up a first round TKO victory over Douglas Del Rio, a video of which is below.

(Falcao also strayed from his usual fighting style, however, as he actually managed to stop punching his opponent when the ref intervened.)

According to multiplesources, UFC veteran and recent Bellator signee Maiquel “Big Rig” Falcao suffered a heart attack in training this past weekend, the cause of which has yet to be determined. His manager has stated the following:

Maiquel is still on the Intensive Care Unit and might stay there for few more days, when he’ll go through a catheterization. He’s lucid and improving fast.

Falcao’s lone octagon appearance, a decision victory over TUF 7 alum Gerald Harris, was memorable for a multitude of reasons. Not only did a timing error deny Falcao nearly 7 seconds to finish a rear naked choke on Harris in the first round (one which even Dana White though Harris would have tapped to), but the third round would become an exercise in tedium as neither fighter would engage. Bizarre to say the least, made all the more disappointing by the fact that Falcao had been so dominant up to that point over a tough guy in Harris.

If last night’s Bellator 54 in Atlantic City, New Jersey was a preview of things to come, then under no condition should you skip the finale of this season’s middleweight tournament. Unless you don’t like watching exciting brawls and devastating knockouts. In that case, I really don’t know why you’re here in the first place.

Alexander Shlemenko and Brian Rogers both promised a knockout before the fight, and it quickly became apparent that neither man planned on breaking that promise. A back and forth battle from the opening seconds, the fight saw each fighter land hard shots to his opponent. In the second round, however, Shlemenko’s superior clinch game helped him get the better of Rogers, as Shlemenko rocked Rogers with knees to the head before the referee stopped the fight. Alexander Shlemenko is now 42-7 in his MMA career, and 6-1 in Bellator.

The evening’s co-main event, Vitor Vianna took home a quick TKO over Bryan Baker. From the start of the fight, Baker showed little respect for Vianna’s striking. Bryan Baker chose to throw bombs at Vianna in hopes of getting a quick finish. Bryan Baker chose poorly.

Falcao (27-3, 1 no-contest) met journeyman Julio Cesar Bilik (10-7) in the main event of a Centurion Mixed Martial Arts show in Itajai, Santa Catarina, Brazil, and went home with the 22nd knockout victory of his career. Watch as Falcao drops Bilik with a stiff jab, then smashes him with strikes from the top until the referee puts a stop to the action.

After the fight, Falcao said…something. I don’t speak Portuguese, so I’m absolutely no help to you in that department. Anybody care to translate?

(Luckily, Falcao listed a prescription for assault on his pre-fight medicals. Photo courtesy of CombatLifestyle.com)

Maybe that video of Maiquel Falcao‘s savage and prolonged beating of an old opponent should have served as a warning that the dude is a bit of a loose cannon. According to Diario Popular (via MMA Mania) Falcao was arrested on a corporal assault charge today in Pelotas, Brazil, by local police. The Chute Boxe prospect was pinched after giving an interview to Grupo Brasil de Comunicação, and offered no resistance while being arrested, according to witnesses. No other details have been released yet, but we’ll update you when we know more. From MMA Junkie:

The Brazilian native was detained after a warrant for his arrest was issued in relation to a 2002 assault charge. MMAjunkie.com confirmed with Falcao’s management that the fighter is currently incarcerated, though the Chute Boxe product hopes to be released as soon as today. According to Falcao’s camp, the Brazilian was ordered in 2002 to serve a 24-month house-arrest sentence. After eight months, Falcao moved to a new home, though his lawyer advised him that the Brazilian authorities would have no issue with him completing the sentence in a new location. Today, Falcao returned to his hometown, as he reportedly has several times since 2002, but authorities elected to take him into custody…[Falcao's] camp did insist the matter was unlikely to affect his Octagon career.

Oddly enough, Falcao’s bust wasn’t the only MMA-related assault case in the news today. After the jump, an MMA fighter finds himself on the receiving end of a weird dust-up in Albuquerque…

Since nobody likes to get right back to work after a four-day weekend, we figured we’d ease you back into your time-wasting routine with a few ridiculous MMA videos. First up, a three-second KO at an Evolution AMMA event that’s notable for what happens after the knockout. The losing fighter is so dazed that not only does he grab onto the referee in confusion, he manages to successfully score mount. Early stoppage, if you ask me.

After the jump: During a 2007 bout in Brazil, new UFC acquisition Maiquel Falcao continues to beat on his opponent long after the fight is stopped. Could this be a bad omen for his UFC career? (And where was that intensity at UFC 123?) Also, video of Bob Sapp‘s latest sad kickboxing match, Saturday night in Sweden, in which the Beast takes a dive at the absolute earliest opportunity.